Locking-lamp.



H. HUBBELL.

LOCKING LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED APR.9| 1913.

Patented May 4, 1915.

ETS-S H E ET I I WITNESSES:

J an

' ,4 TTORNEY H. HUBBELL.

LOCKING LAMP. APPLICATION FILED APR .9| 1913.

Patehted May 4, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTORNEY 35 structed in accordance with, the lnvention.

a OFFICE.

, HARVEY HUBBELL, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

LOCKING-LAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1915.

Application filed April 9, 1913. Serial No. 759,922.

lamps by unauthorized persons.

To this end the invention, in the form herein shown and described,comprises a lamp base havingmeans for attachment to a lamp socket in theusual manner, said means however, being inoperative to permit detachmentof said lamp from said socket.

More specifically, and in accordance with one feature of the invention,said invention contemplates the provision of a lamp base which may bescrewed into an ordinary lamp socket but which cannot be unscrewedtherefrom without first performing an operation which will destroy theusefulness of the lamp.

With these and other objects in view I have devised the novel lamp whichI will now describe, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification and in which: Figures 1 and 2 areelevations, at right angles to each other, of a lamp base con- Fig. 3 isa plan view, Fig. 4 a section on the line 4-4, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 anelevation of the inner shell of the lamp base. Fig. 6 is a sectionsubstantially on the line 6-6, Fig.

Fig. 7 isa longitudinal section of the lamp base and a portion of thebulb, showing theparts in attaching position.v Fig. 8 is a sectionsubstantially on the line 8-8, Fig. 9.' Fig. 9 is a viewv similar toFig. 7 showing the parts in detaching position.

Fig. 10 is a detail elevation of the tube or hollow rivet,showing theform of this part prior to its assembly with the insulating button. Fig.11 is a section substantially on the line 11-11, Fig. 7.

12 denotes an ordinary incandescent lamp bulbhaving the usual inturnedneck 13 in which is. secured a filament 14 from which leadconductors' 15and 1 16. The conductor, l 1passes upwardlyandfis secured, as by solder,to a short metal tube or hollow rivet 17 passing through the usualinsulating but- The conductor 16 passes downton 18. wardly over theoutside of the bulb and is secured, as by solder, to the edge of theinner lamp base shell 19 which is normally in contact with the outerlamp base shell 20. Within the neck 13, and adjacent the inner endthereof, the conductor 15 is provided with an abrupt bend or kink 21 fora purpose presently to be explained.

The tube or hollow rivet is provided at its inner end with reverselyturned prongs 22 which are embedded in a preferably square insulatingWasher 23, whereby said washer and tube are rigidly secured together.The edge of the outer end of the tube or rivet 17, when the latter hasbeen placed in position "inthe button 18, is turned outwardly to form aflange or end contact member 24, and between said flange and the outerrecessed face of the button 18' are interposed washers 25. By reason ofthis construction the button 18 is adapted to turn freely with respectto the tube or rivet 17 j The outer shell. 20 is corrugated 'in theusual manner to provide threads 39 by which the lamp may be screwed intoand attached to the ordinary lamp socket. The

shells 19 and 20 are both preferably formed of sheet 'metal. The outershell 20 is'loose or free to turn upon the button 18 and inner shell 19and is formed with an inturned inner end 26 adapted to ooiiperate with astop shoulder 27 on the inner shell '19. The outer end of the outershell is also turned inwardly, as at 28, and is interposed between thebutton 18 and insulating washer 23, said inturned portion having acentral, cpreferably circular opening 29 to receive the tube 17, but ofless diameter than the greatest diameter of the washer'23. By thisconstruction the outer shell 20 is held in the longitudinal positionshown in Figs. 7 and 9, but is free to turn .with respect to both thebutton 18 and washer 23. The inner shell 19 is formed with-an inturnedend 30 provided with a central opening 31 shaped if desired, be notched,as shown in Fig. 5,

and which is provided with resilient projections 33. Said projectionsare normally turned inwardly over the outer face of'the.

wa'sher23. By this arrangement the inner shell.1 9 is secured to thewasher 23' so as to 18 and outer shell 20, is free to turn with respectto both said button and said outer shell. Y

31 denotes a spring plate secured at its center to the inner shell19,'as bypassing through slots in .the wall thereof, and havingoppositely extending ends or arms 35 and 36 adapted respectively toengage shoulders 37 and 38 pro ecting inwardly from the outer shell 20.These shoulders are preferably produced by indenting the threads 39, areoppositely disposed as shown most clearly in Figs. 6 and 8, and arelocated in different planes or positions longitudinally of the lampbase, as shown in Fig. 1.

4O denotes an outwardly turned flange on the end'of the inner shell 19adjacent the bulb 12. When the lamp is in position said flange extendsbeyond the edge of the opening in the lamp socket and also, as shown inFig. 7, normally overlaps the inturned end 26 of the outer shell 20.This flange prevents direct access to the outer shell when the lamp isin position in a socket, and also makes it impossible for anunauthorized person, by forcing an implement into the space between thetwo shells, to wedge or look them together.

The operation of the device is as follows: The normal position of theparts is as shown in Fig. 7. If the bulb 12 be turned in the directionto screw the lamp into a ,lamp socket, engagement of the spring arm 35 jwith the shoulder 37 (see Fig. 6) causes the outer shell 20 to turn inunison with the inner shell 19, which is rigidly and permanently securedto the bulb 12, permitting the lamp to be screwed into the socket in theusual way. Turning of the bulb 12 in the opposite direction, in order tounscrew the sponding turning lamp from the socket, will not causecorreof the outer shell 20, since the spring arm 35 will move idly overthe shoulder. 37. The inner shell 19 will therefore turn idly within theouter shell 20, so

that after the lamp has once been screwed into place it cannot beunscrewed merely by turning the bulb 12. The loose connection betweenthe inner shell 19, button 18, and outer shell 20 makes it impossiblefor rotation of the inner shell to be communicated to the outer shellthrough the button, while the flange 4:0 prevents direct access to theouter shell and also prevents all possibility of looking the inner andouter shells together, as above explained. In order to remove the lampfrom the socket, it is necessary to pull the bulb 12 outwardly from thesocket with sufficient force to disengage the projections 33 from thewasher 23 and bring the stop should r 27 on the. inner shell 19 intoengage- -ment1W1th the inturned end 26 of the outer shell 20, as shownin Fig. 9, outward movegagement thereof of the outer shell. Thisrelative longitudinal movement of the lamp base shell-brings the springarm 36 into a position to cotiperate with the shoulder 38, as shown inFig. 8.

If now the lamp bulb be turned in a direction to unscrew the lamp fromthe socket, engagement of said spring arm 36 and shoulder 38 causes theouter shell 20 to rotate in unison with the inner shell 19, permittingthe lamp to be removed from the socket. By reason of the resilience ofthe spring arms 35 and 36, these arms are normally thrown outwardly soas always to be in a position to engage the shoulders 37 or 38 accordingto the relative position of the lamp base shells.

The relative longitudinal movement of the inner and outer shellsnecessary to bring the spring arm 36 into a position to engage theshoulder 38, by separating the inner shell from the button 18, causesthe conductor 15 to be broken, as shown in Fig. 9, thereby destroyingthe usefulness of the lamp and defeating the usual purpose of anunauthorized person in improperly removing a lamp. By reason of theelasticity of the projections 33, the ,force necessary to disengage themfrom the washer 23 is not sufficient to bend these projections into acompletely upright position, and they will be left turned inwardly to aslight extent, as shown in Fig. 9. If, therefore, the inner shell 19 bemoved inwardly toward the socket'again, these projections will engagethe adjacent face of the washer 23, preventing the complete reengagementof the parts and making it impos- 1. An electric lamp comprising abulband a lamp base, said lamp base including an outer shell adapted forattachment to a lamp socket, an inner shell longitudinally movable inthe outer shell and secured to said bulb and means operativelyconnecting said shells for rotation in an opposite direction at eachextreme of the longitudinal movement of the'inner shell, to permit thelamp to be secured within or removed from the lamp socket.

2. An electric lamp comprising a bulb and a lamp base, said lamp baseincluding an outer shell adapted for attachment to a lamp socket, (aninner shell secured to said bulb and adapted to receive forciblelongitudinal movement in said outer shell but normally retained at oneextreme of its movement and means for operatively connecting said shellsfor rotation in an opposite direction at each extreme of thelongitudinal movement of the inner shell to permit the lamp to besecured Within or removed from the lamp socket.

3. An electric lamp comprising a bulb and a lamp base, said lamp baseincluding, in

combination, an inner shell fixed to the bulb,

an outer shell rotatably and longitudinally movable relatively thereto,and means connecting said shells and operative When the bulb is turnedin one direction to cause engagement of the outer shell with a lampsocket, and inoperative when the bulb is turned in the oppositedirection Without longitudinal movement and causing removal of the lampwhen turned in the opposite direction after longitudinal movement.

4. An electric lamp comprising a bulb and a lamp base, said lamp baseincluding, in combination, two rotatable shells one of which is securedto saidbulb and the other of which is adapted for attachment to a lampsocket, said first-mentioned shell ha vmg longitudinal movement also,and means connecting said shells alternatively operative to transmitrotation of one shell to the other in opposite directions to cause thelamp to be secured within a. lamp socket or removed therefrom afterlongitudinal movement of the first-mentioned shell.

5. In an electric lamp, a lamp base com- 'pr1s1ng, 1n combinatlon, twomembers having'relative rotary and longitudinal movement for placing inattaching and detaching positions, one of said members havin means forattachment to a lamp socket, and means connecting said members to permitattachment of said base and socket, said means being inoperative topermit detachment of said base and socket when said members a're'inattaching position, and being brought into position to permit detachmentof said base and socket by longitudinal movement of one of said members.

6. An electric lamp comprising, in combination, a bulb, a button, a tubepassing through said button and having a contact member, a Washercarried by the inner end of said tube, an inner lamp base shell securedto said bulb and having an opening and teeth projecting into saidopening andengaging said washer, an outer threaded lamp base shellmounted to turn on said button and on said inner shell, andmeans foropcratively connecting said shells for movement in unison when saidinner shell is turned in one direction.

7. An electric lamp comprising, in com-, bination, a bulb, a button, atube passing through said button and having a contact member, a Washerof said tube, an inner lamp base shell secured to said bulb and havingan opening and teeth projecting into said opening and engaging saidWasher, an outer threaded lamp base shell mounted to turn on said buttonand on said inner shell, and means carried by said inner shell forengaging and turning said outer shell When said inner shell is turned inone direction.

8. An electric lamp comprising, in combination, a bulb, an inner lampbase shell secured to said bulb, an outer lamp base shell having meansfor attachment to a lamp socket, said shells being relativelylongicarried by the inner end tudinally movable, and means controlled by'an inner lamp base shell secured to said bulb. an outer lamp base shellhaving means vtor attachment to a lamp socket, said shells beingrelatively longitudinally movable and being provided with c-oiiperatingstop shoulers for limiting their longitudinal movement. and meanscontrolled by the relative longitudinal position of said shells forconnecting said shells. said means being oper- 'ative to connect saidshells for movement in unison in one direction when said shells are inone relative longitudinal position and operative to connect said shellsfor movement in unison in the opposite direction when said shells are inanother relative longitudinal position.

10. An electric lamp comprising a bulb, an inner lamp base shell securedto said bulb, an outer threaded lamp base shell having a pair ofoppositely disposed shoulders arranged in different positionslongitudinally of said shell, and a spring plate secured at its centerto said inner shell and having oppositely extending arms adapted tocooperate with said shoulders respectively, said shells being relativelylongitudinally movable to bring said arms ilnto position to engage therespective shoulers.

11. An electriclamp comprising a bulb, an inner lamp base shell securedto said bulb, an outer threaded lamp base shell having a pair ofoppositely disposed shoulders arranged in different positionslongitudinally of said shell, and means on theinner shell adapted dersrespectively, said shells being relatively to cooperate with saidshoullongitudinally movable to'bring said arms ing into position toengage the respective shoulders.

12. An electric lamp comprising, in combination, a bulb, a lamp baseincluding two members relatively movable into attaching and detachingpositions, one of said members having means for attachment to a lampsocket, a button, means connecting the other of said base members andbutton, said means being constructed and arranged to permitdisengagement of said parts when" said members are moved into detachingposition and to prevent complete rengagement thereof, and meansconnecting said membersto permit attachment .of said base and socket,said means'being inoperative to permit detachment of said base andsocket when said members are in attaching position, and operative topermit detachment of said base and socket when said members are indetach-ing position.

13. An electric lamp comprising a bulb, a button, a contact memberpassing through said button, a square washer carried by the inner end ofsaid contact member, alamp base comprising relatively movable inner andouter shells, said inner shell being secured to said bulb and having asquare opento receive said 'washer and projections engaging said washer,and said outer shell being mounted to turn on said button and on saidinner shell.

- 14. An electric lamp comprising a bulb, a button, a tube passingthrough said button and adapted to turn therein, a washer on said tube,said tube having prongs'engaging said washer, an inner lamp base shellsecured to said bulb and to said washer, and an outer shell free to turnwith respect to said button and tube.

15. An el'ectrielamp comprising a bulb having a neck, a contact member,and a conductor passing through said neck and connected with saidcontact member, said bulb and contact member being relatively movable tobreak'saidmo'nductor, and said parts being constructed and arranged tocause said conductor to be broken within said neck.

16. An electric lamp comprising a bulb having a neck, a contact member,and a conductor passing through said neck and connected with saidcontact member, said bulb and contact member being relativelv movable tobreak said conductor and said conductor having a kink or abrupt bendwithin said neck.

17. In an electric lamp, in combination, a lamp base comprising twomembers relatively movable into attaching and detaching positions, oneof said members having means for attachment to a member, a lamp bulb, aconductor connecting said contact member and bulb and arranged to bebroken at a definite predetermined point when said base members aremoved into. detaching position, and means connecting said members topermit attachment of said base and socket, said means being inoperativeto permit detachment of said base and socket when said lamp base membersare in attaching position, and operative to permit detachment of saidbase and socket when said members are in detachmg position.

18. In an electric lamp, in combinatlon, a lamp base comprising twomembers relatively movable into attaching and detaching positions, oneof saidv members having means for attachment to a lamp socket, a contactmember, a lamp bulb having a neck, a conductor connecting said contactmember and bulb and passing through said neck, said conductor beingconstructed and arranged to be broken within said neck when said basemembers are moved into detaching position, and means connecting saldmembers to permit attachment of said base and socket, said means beinginoperative to permit detachment of said ase "and socket when said lampbase members are n attaching position, and operative to er m1tdetachment of said base and socket w en sald members are in detachingposition.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARVEY HUBBELL. Witnesses:

A. M. Woos'rrm, S. W. Arnnnron.

lamp socket, a contact

